Zvoleněves brings together several defining themes from the town’s history: the castle and its predecessor, St. Martin’s Church and the former sugar factory. At the same time, the floodplain of the Knovízský potok is designated as a landscape area, and a pond provides a place for recreation. The town can thus be explored through its architectural history, industrial history and landscape.
Getting there by train
Zvoleněves station is on railway line 110 between Kralupy nad Vltavou and Louny. Platform accessibility is also important when planning your journey: the station does not have step-free access to the platforms. If you require step-free access, check the latest information again before travelling, as accessibility details can change.
Castle and church: different building phases
The present-day castle was built in 1675. Its predecessor dated from the 16th century and burned down completely along with the town during the Thirty Years’ War. The present-day castle presumably stands on the site of the fortress belonging to the original owners of the Zvoleněves estate.
St. Martin’s Church was built in 1352 above the present-day castle, on the hill by the cemetery. In 1745, Anna Maria of Tuscany had the church extended and fitted with a massive tower. Its façade was later reconstructed and its windows replaced. Its history thus includes both its early foundation and subsequent structural changes.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a structural link was created between the castle and the church: the castle’s south wing was connected to the church across the former moat by a covered passage. The passage rested on three arches. This feature adds a distinctive link between the histories of the two buildings, while the church’s extension and tower mark a different building phase.
The former sugar factory
Emperor Ferdinand I had the original sugar factory built in 1859 as the owner of the Zvoleněves estate. Sugar production ceased at the end of 2001. Its founding and the end of production mark two milestones in the town’s industrial history.
The historic appearance of the former factory’s main production building included tall windows extending across all the built-in floors of the boiling house. It also featured architecturally striking gables decorated with sugar-loaf motifs, as well as a structure with a water tower. These features give the factory’s history its own architectural character, distinct from the history of the castle and church.
Landscape and surroundings
The floodplain of the Knovízský potok in Zvoleněves is designated as an area with a characteristic landscape. Alongside the historic buildings, it offers another way of viewing the town. The pond in Zvoleněves also provides a place for recreation, adding another aspect to a stay focused on the town’s cultural history.
A different subject awaits nearby, between Drnov and Podlešín: the Slaný–Drnov Cold War and Air Defence Museum. It is housed in an underground former command post of the 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. This lets you distinguish Zvoleněves’s local history from a separate military history topic in the surrounding area.
Discover more destinations: Libovice, Klobuky, Vraný, Želenice, Šlapanice, Stochov, Lány U Rakovníka, Vrbičany.
For the broader travel overview: Kladno District.
